Patient Ombudsman reports on healthcare rights complaints

Between May 1 and August 31, 2026, the Patient Rights Officers in Cyprus recorded a total of 534 complaints and requests. This figure comprises 293 written complaints and 241 verbal requests, averaging more than 130 cases per month.

Patient Ombudsman Marios Charalambides, nearing his one-year anniversary in the position, noted that the primary concerns raised by the public involve the quality of care, waiting times, the prevention of unnecessary inconvenience, and access to information. Notably, two out of every ten written complaints pertained to issues within Accident and Emergency Departments (A&E). The written submissions contained 843 specific references to potentially violated patient rights.

Charalambides described the reporting mechanism as a useful tool for monitoring the healthcare system but cautioned that individual complaints provide only a partial indicator of the overall state of patients' rights in the country. He expressed optimism that public engagement with the reporting process will grow over time, while emphasizing that the current findings align with routine, everyday challenges within the medical sector.